HISTORY & CULTURE
THE HISTORY OF THE ARTS STATION IN FERNIE
The building that now houses the Arts Station has played an important role for decades in Fernie. It served for nearly its first 70 years as Fernie’ s hub of transportation and now for more than 35 years as its centre for the arts.
In 1898, the Canadian Pacific Railway( CPR) reached Fernie and established the town as a regional railway and mining hub. The original station built in 1898, and its replacement, were both destroyed by the fires that burned through Fernie in 1905 and 1908. The quick post-fire reconstruction of the station reflected Fernie’ s status a centre of commerce on the CPR’ s Crowsnest Branch Line( aka South Line) from Lethbridge, AB to Nelson, BC. The Craftsman style structure completed in 1909 is among a small group of‘ Special Stations’ designed by CPR. Notably, contractor McDermot and Company utilized lumber in the station’ s construction, ignoring the City of Fernie’ s 1908 fire prevention bylaw prohibiting the use of wood in new construction.
CPR combined all the functions of the stop under one roof in a cost-saving effort. This included working spaces, waiting rooms, office space, freight storage, and a separate private upstairs living space for the station agent and his family. The functional design can be seen in architectural features such as the bay windows allowing a clear view of the tracks, large double doors for easy freight access, and overhanging eaves to provide shelter from mountain weather including both sun and snow.
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